Abstract

This article reflects on questions related to the issue of rebaptism within Nordic Christianity. Because infant baptism is not recognized as valid within the Pentecostal tradition, new members are asked to undergo rebaptism. Many of those coming from a Lutheran tradition, however, seem to have a “ritualized remembrance” of their infant baptism, thus indicating the ability to build bridges between now and then by being in touch with a spiritual reality across time and place, tied to an overarching interpersonal theological discourse. In moving from the Lutheran to the Pentecostal tradition, how important is the amount of water as long as compatible theological reflections are present? And conversely, to what extent can we talk about a sacramental potential in Pentecostalism? When considering such questions, the goal of expressing a “common understanding” and admitting “a mutual recognition” does not mean complete agreement in all details.

BEM19822-6. See also the document from 2011: One Baptism: Towards Mutual Recognition. A Study Text Faith and Order Paper No. 210 (Geneva: World Council of Churches 2011). Source: http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wccmain/documents/p2/2011/One_Baptism_Corrected_for_reprint.pdf.